Westgate Lakes

[jwildflower1981]

Has anybody stayed here? My DH and I are typically stay on property people. We finally decided to stay at CSR, thennnnnnnn.....friends offered us their time share there, for free. I'm a little nervous to stay off property, but free.....I like free. But not having the perks of Disney will cost us extra,no DME, paying for food not on the DDP(that doesnt bother me to much) and a car rental. What are your opinions?
Thanks!:mickey:

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

You will love it! We stayed there in 2004, when a friend of DH's parents gave us their timeshare. We had a 2-bedroom suite, and a studio for the whole family and it was beautiful! I have nothing bad to say about the place, except that it isn't Disney.

The whole place was nice, it was clean, the pools were OK (no slides or anything), with whirpools, and we could see the Disney fireworks from our balcony. We ate at one of the on-site restaurants for dinner one night, and it was quite yummy and the service was good.

The commute to Disney wasn't bad either, and although we LOVE staying on-site, we'd stay there again, especially for FREE :thumbsup:

[thrillme]

We stayed there last year. We didn't do much Disney we were there for SeaWorld and the Disney Waterparks. It was quite nice. The resturant was good, we had fun playing mini golf and the commute was easy. The staff was VERY friendly.

If you're just doing Disney I liked the "perks" of the transportation and the extended evening hours... but otherwise Westgate Lakes was quite nice. The last time we were there I thought they were putting in a mini water park? I could be wrong. But I know they were working on something big. They also had other "activities" too. Some rooms even had a kitchenette and they had a little grocery store right there. This could save a few $$ if you're looking at cutting back.

They had people driving around in the little golf carts always out to pick up guests and take them to the front or whereever they needed to go...they were much nicer than the "meanies" at CSR (yes yes yes...I KNOW...the "meanines" were only supposed to pick up conventioneers...but when my feet are tired...I DON'T CARE...if their carts are "empty"...they go into the "meanie" category...at least "most" of them)

[NJGIRL]

We own timeshare (we have never stayed at Westgate) and mostly stay at them during our disney vacations so I am answering this in general. This is just my opinion but, I like staying in the timeshare more than in a disney hotel. We have stayed in at least 7 different timeshares in the disney area and they have all been within 10 mins (some only one mile away) of the Disney enterance. I said this before but we can get to the parks in our rental car quicker than friends staying on disney property taking the buses. The roads that lead to disney are very well marked (and very easy to drive)and beleive me the people at the front desk know that most are there for Disney so they know exactly how to get you there easy. Every timeshare we have stayed at has been very nice, they are just as nice as the rooms that we have had at the AKL and WL. The thing I really like about the timeshare is the space we have to spread out. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, dining room and washer & dryer. By the end of the week we are not ready to kill eachother.
Most timeshares also have alot of activities to keep everyone busy if you aren't going to the parks. I think that most of the Disney hotels are really cool and I do like now and then to stay there for a visit but all in all I don't feel we have ever missed out on that "Disney feeling" by not sleeping on Disney Property. If it's free I say try it out this time. If you don't like it you can always go back to Disney the next time.

[andreallybadeggs]

Have not stayed at this particular resort but have stayed in several other WDW area timeshares and have always been very satisfied. Would we prefer to stay on property? Yes. Is it worth a great deal more $ to us to stay on property? No.
The experience is different but it is still fantastic.
Avoid the emh parks of the day and enjoy the grounds, spaciousness, activities your timeshare has to offer. We don't spend a lot of time cooking or doing laundry on our vacations either but love having a full kitchen and washer-dryer at our disposal as well. And for free??? absolutely!:thumbsup:

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We have friends who are managers at Westgate.
2) Next to Orange Lake Resort, Westgate is probably the best in Orlando.
3) You shouldn't be disappointed.